


What happens next?

by Hawken



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Dalish elf, Dragon Age - Freeform, Fantasy, Original Character(s), Other, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 21:03:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13256574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawken/pseuds/Hawken
Summary: This is a fan-story of a slightly different turn of events Post-Dragon Age 2 all the way up to Dragon Age Inquisition.This follows three original characters tied up in the lead up to 'Inquistion', how despite their differences they are forced to co-operate and work together to weaken the Tevinter Court and free many Elven Slaves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fan-story of a slightly different turn of events Post-Dragon Age 2 all the way up to Dragon Age Inquisition.
> 
> This follows three original characters tied up in the lead up to 'Inquistion', how despite their differences they are forced to co-operate and work together to weaken the Tevinter Court and free many Elven Slaves. 
> 
> Comments are always very much loved and appreciated <3

The violent scream of thunder threaten to split the sky. Clouds rolled like ash spilling from a volcano, growling and hissing as they enveloped Thedas in a deathly smog. With an unearthly hiss the wind shook the thin walls, throwing shadows everywhere as they flickered in amber candlelight around the tavern. 

“That’s it!”.

Boots pounding heavily against the tiled floor, the necromancer growled as she slammed the fluttering shutters to a close. The sudden movement causing her cropped hair to fly violently around her face before resting upon her shoulders. A bolt of lightening streaked across her features for a moment, before she turned to sit reluctantly with her comrades once more. As she brushed a streak of bronze hair behind her ear, the rogue amongst them quirked a brow at her friend’s reaction. “…Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes turned downwards at the tarot cards that lay beneath her fingers, shuffling and skimming them gently. 

Moaning in annoyance, Emily ran a hand across her face before her gaze locked onto the woman before her. “No” she grumbled, taking off her soaking furs and slapping them against the bench with a wet ‘splat’, “I’m sick of this bloody weather – it’s seems like the sky has been sodding miserable ever since…” she tailed off at the end, her face almost unreadable. Abby nodded kindly at this, bringing her cards together before spreading them out again as she absentmindedly studied their faces. “Mm I understand, it might clear up though?” she offered. “I doubt it” the mage retorted grumpily, resting her chin on her palm as she rolled her grey eyes, “First the rifts opened, spitting demons everywhere – now this! I never thought I’d be at risk of drowning every time I step outside”.

Giggling softly, an elven woman slid onto the bench across from the brooding mage, her dark hair cascading in waves down her back as she smiled. “Don’t worry, the sky can’t stay angry forever” she declared brightly as she carefully slid a few books onto the table as to not knock over any drinks - their leather bound sleeves cracking with age and wear. Her pale fingertips skimmed the pages as she hummed in concentration. “Aha!”. With a gentle tut, Aurora opened the large book out on to the table, spreading out various sketches and notes scribbled onto various pieces of yellowing paper as she did so. 

Narrowing her eyes, Emily brought a tankard to her lips as she skimmed through her the elf’s notes. As the strong taste of the rank mead hit her tongue, she screwed her nose up and spluttered in disgust. “Too strong?” Abby teased, a smirk upon her lips. Emily merely huffed in response as she continued to pout grumpily. Turning her interests elsewhere, Abby leant towards Aurora slightly to peer at her work, her long crimson hair trailing across her cards. Various runes and enchantments were carefully etched into the paper, spells of years past and lyrics to old bindings. “Aurora…” Abby murmured, her voice dropping down into a low whisper as she recognized the spells, “Why… why are you looking at old mage works?”.

Blinking in surprise, the young elf hastily glanced around her surroundings, her hazel eyes darting from every fat drunk man to bar maid to make sure no one was in earshot. “I wanted to be prepared… just incase the Templars attacked again” she whispered, her head bowing down slightly in shame as a dark scarlet rose upon her cheeks. 

Sighing softly, Abby nodded as she sat back up. She knew that Aurora had a fascination with mages, as a Dalish Elf she was hardly surprised that this longing for magic desperately clung in her friend’s heart. However, she wasn’t certain that this passion was a wise idea – not during the blight, not when demons were lurked in every shadow and not with Templars on the rise once again. Carefully spreading her cards across the table once more, Abby swore under her breath, as with every hand she dealt, the death card always seemed to reappear to stare her in the face. “Ah shit”.

Unknowingly to Aurora, the mage among the party had caught sight of her findings. Unsure on what to say however, Emily kept silent as she tore her gaze away from the markings. Back when she lived in the circle in Kirkwall, she too was fascinated in the power behind magic, how it could bring great light into the world… but in the hands of those swayed, it could also bring great danger. Of course, that’s only what the Templars saw – that magic led to death, to the possession and the summoning of demons. In many ways, Emily believed that they were right to have their suspicions, but they always forced blame onto the innocent rather than the actual blood mages.

Pushing the tankard away from her own reach, Emily nodded towards Aurora’s papers with a cool nonchalance. Although Abby knew of her ‘gifts’, Aurora did not and until she could find ways to trust the elf, she wished to keep it that way. “Blood magic?” she asked uninterestedly, turning to pick at the necklace that hung round her neck. “Yes!” Aurora smiled, her bright eyes glistening in excitement, “I find it fascinating… however…”. Tilting her head, the elf’s brow furrowed as she ran her thumb over the inscriptions. “…I can’t figure it all out. It doesn’t make sense. It’s nothing like anything I’ve ever read before and I can speak every tongue in Thedas,… It simply doesn’t make sense, I can see the logic behind it but-”. 

“-It’s because you’re not a mage” Emily cut in quickly as to hush the elf’s talking. At this Aurora’s smile wavered, her pointed ears drooping slightly. Widening her eyes, the necromancer quickly cleared her throat awkwardly and forced a smile onto her lips. “No, I didn’t mean that as a criticism! Not at all it’s just that… ah… buggar”. Watching the scene unfold between the two before her, Abby quickly chuckled as she began packing her cards away. “What I believe my friend means to say is that; being a mage isn’t quite as it seems right now, not with the Templars and the blight and all”. 

Nodding in agreement, Emily ran a hand through her hair. “Yes, that. It’s dangerous to be a mage… after Anders…”. Slapping her book shut in shock, Aurora gasped slightly as she stared at the woman across from her. “Wait, you knew the mage that blew up the chantry?”. Leaning back on the bench, Emily internally cursed as she stared through a nearby window. She watched the rain pelt upon the dirty glass for a moment before forming a reply. “…Yes” she replied uneasily, as if she was unsure of her words, “He was… a friend of mine”. 

“That’s so cool!” Aurora giggled before pulling a small leather bound notebook from under her cape. Carefully placing it upon the table, she flipped through the pages until pausing, running her finger across the text as she read aloud. “Today in Kirkwall horror shook across the city as the once Grey Warden, now abomination ‘Anders’ caused mass terror by blowing up the maker’s sacred chan-”. “Enough!” Emily snarled lowly, slamming her fist on the table hard enough to make the pretty elf jump. Turning away from Aurora, Emily quickly stood up, nodding curtly at the party before making her way towards the large tavern doors. Aurora watched the woman pulled her hood over her head as she marched out into the howling storm. 

“Did… Did I say something wrong?” Aurora asked, her voice wavering slightly. “Ah…”. Tilting her head, Abby offered sympathy as she rested a hand upon her friend’s shoulder. Humming gently, her dark green eyes gazed sadly at the elf before turning away. “No, you didn’t. I haven’t known Emily for that long but…”. Lifting her head to glance out of the window, the pair watched as the woman in question mounted a large mare and began to bolt down the muddy track. “Ah shit, I guess you’ll need to know…”.

“Three years ago I was in Kirkwall myself. I grew up there as a child, but moved away when my younger sister was born, it just wasn’t safe for a young child anymore. However many years later when I heard of the Qunari in my hometown… well I was curious. It wasn’t the Kirkwall I remembered, nah, far from it. There was death on every street corner, tensions rising with every breath between the races – but mainly between the Templars and the Mages. There was a circle of Magi, of course, yet many of those touched by the maker didn’t wish for their lives to be restricted anymore. Many rebellions broke out, and the Mages were nearly granted their freedoms… but of course their progression was all cast aside when the Arishok murdered the Viscount. 

You’ve heard of the Champion of Kirkwall right? Serrah Hawke… ah, he was a brave man. I actually worked for him for a while; delivering messages between him and his companions regarding the city’s safety. That’s actually how I met Emily… I remember this one time Hawke instructed me to visit Lowtown, let me tell you you’ve never smelt the stench of shit till you’ve been there. It was bloody disgusting. Anyway I digress, I was a little curious as to why he was sending me so far, so I checked the recipient – an illegal healer living in a hidden clinic below Lowtown. This man was the one you were just talking about actually, Anders. It confused me at first, as he didn’t look like much for a wanted criminal. I can just remember him smelling like odd herbs and that he looked stressed, very stressed. But there was something about him… Something that seemed wrong, unnatural… 

Anders quickly read the letter I was sent to deliver and immediately burnt it before thanking me. His accent was unusual too, I suppose he came from Ferelden but it was too hard to tell. After destroying the message, Anders told me to wait before disappearing into a separate room. I wasn’t prying or anything, but I could hear mumbling between himself and a female voice. A couple moments later a mage walked out of the room, she smelt of herbs too but she was a lot cleaner than Anders. I recognized her clothing too, a Grey Warden. 

You understand how this set me off right? I don’t like the Wardens at the best of times, but this one sent my suspicions off like crazy. She reached for her staff and I reached for my blades. I was about to ram one into her skull before something slammed into my chest. It bloody hurt as well! Turns out that Anders guy cast a barrier between us; I could feel it freezing my limbs, forcing me to drop my weapon. Releasing me from his grasp, the healer helped me up before turning back to the Warden. And although I don’t think you’ll ever get it out of her, but there was a look that the two shared briefly - Emily and Anders, that I don’t think just appears between friends”.

“Wait, that was Emily? Emily was a Grey Warden?” Aurora gasped in surprise as she widened her eyes at her friend’s tale. A smirk creeping across the rogue’s face, Abby chuckled before shaking her head. “Well… I thought so too at first”.

“I later found out that Anders had simply given her his old uniform so that she may escape the city. Templars don’t like Mages no, but they will hold some respect for the Wardens. This healer told me to take Emily to the Champion, Anders said that he’d know what to do. Before I left however, he called after us as we made our ways out of Lowtown. He said if I knew what was good for me, then I should go with Emily and Hawke and leave the city”. 

“What happened?” Aurora asked desperately, totally infatuated with her friend’s words. Abby sighed as she fiddled in concentration with the rings on her fingers. “Hawke took a small group of us out of the city. He paid money for all of us to travel by boat at great cost, yet he never told us why. Truth be told, I don’t think the man knew himself why Anders told us that we had to leave. Once we reached the Storm Coast, we all went off in our separate ways. Hawke travelled east whilst the others set off West to Ferelden. It was only a few weeks later when word of the chantry spread across Thedas - that a mad Mage had blown himself up in a terrorist attack upon the maker’s church itself. Tsk, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Emily cry so much…”. 

Staring blankly down into her swirling cup of mead, a sudden wave of nausea swept over Aurora. “I… I didn’t know that… Anders... and Emily… that…”. “Ah don’t worry about it love” Abby whispered, patting her friend’s shoulder. “You didn’t know… I mean bloody hell, that’s all I know about the whole sodding matter”. Nodding slowly, Aurora smiled sweetly as she gathered her books up, placing them into her satchel before swinging it over her shoulder. “Well, it’s getting rather late - I should probably get going”. “You sure you’re okay to ride?” Abby grinned mischievously, “You’ve had one sip of mead and we all know how much of a lightweight you are!”. Rolling her eyes, Aurora groaned a little before sticking her tongue out. “Farewell Abby, I shall see you tomorrow”.


	2. Chapter 2

The icy grey sky restlessly growled overhead as the young elf darted down the veiny paths. The thick blackened clouds rolled like smoke across the black sky. Heavy clouds exploded with deafening roars as rain thundered towards the earth. The cold icy drops pierced Aurora’s pale skin as she tugged her cloak closer to her person. She ran across the slippery path, her posture weakened by the weight of her soaked clothes. The quality of darkness shifted in the sky but the rain kept pouring. The harsh rain obliterated the crystal reflection of the sky and turned it into an disorientated chaos. Darting between two large trees, the elf finally rested. Breathing heavily, she wiped the hair that had stuck to her brow from her eyes as she glanced at her surroundings. She wasn’t totally sure where she was, the heavy storm had ruined all sense of direction that she once had – that and perhaps the mead she drank earlier was causing her head to spin.

“Shit…” she whined softly as tears threatened to prick at her eyes. She has never been this lost before, at least not by herself. Biting back her emotions, the elf puffed her chest out as she forced herself to keep a clear head. Walking further into the forest, she selected a large tree with branches low enough to reach. Placing her satchel on the ground carefully, she hitched her dress up as she scrambled up the thick trunk. As she kept climbing, she reached for the knotted branches, pushing herself higher until the thick furs brushed against her cheek. Arching her neck, Aurora gazed across the dark landscape as she clung precariously to the thin trunk. The spiked tops of the evergreens smothered the land before her, only in the far north could she make of the faint silhouette of the Frostback Mountains. Holding a hand out to act as a compass, she knew that if the mountains were in the north, she had to travel South to reach her village.

Frowning, Aurora quickly realized that she had strayed a fair way from the path. “Nooo…” she groaned, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. Suddenly, a light filtered from beneath the branches below. Swinging down from her perch desperate for help, Aurora began to scramble down not even stopping when the sharp branches tore her dress in parts. As she was about the jump for the ground, Aurora froze in horror. Below her, two tall ministers in fine dark leather were searching through her bag. One of the ministers sat upon a hissing Dracolisk whilst the other was surrounded by three large dire-wolves. Beside them, an elf had his head bowed; his thin wrists and neck clamped by shackles. 

“Slavers?” Aurora murmured as she narrowed her eyes, not daring to inch any closer. Taking a closer inspection, Aurora’s eyes suddenly widened in fear as she recognized the symbols on the minsters’ broaches – Tevinter. Clamping her hands over her mouth, Aurora’s eyes shut as she tried to hold in a sob from bubbling in her throat. She knew that if they were in fact any old Slaver, there was a slim chance she could have ran away. Yet, knowing that these men were Tevinter made her stomach churn. For decades these Blood crazed Mages had stolen many innocent elves from their homes, branded them, tortured them, and stripped them of their memories until they would cooperate to be good slaves.

Crying breathlessly into her own hand, Aurora wept as the elf below slowly turned his face to meet her. Perhaps at one point the elf would have been effortlessly handsome… But now, his face was covered in bruises and scars, his lips were swollen and sewn together with copper thread, his amber eyes filled with sadness. At the sight of Aurora, his eyebrows raised in horror, he wanted to shake his head, to tell the girl to run… But he knew if he even flinched, his masters would be alerted to her presence. 

Carefully glancing across to the ministers, he watched as they scanned through the notebooks, talking among themselves as they read the inscriptions. Lifting a shackled hand, the elf smiled sadly at Aurora and waved before shaking his head. He needed her to run away. She only looked like a young woman, she didn’t need this life. If he could somehow get her to run, he would be able to distract his masters somehow. Although the thread upon his lips forebode him to talk, the elf shook his head again and pointed into the forest, desperately pleading with Aurora through his silent gestures. 

“Hey! What are you doing?!”. 

Raising his head to his masters, Ran kept a neutral expression as he held his ground. He shook his head as Master Thren stormed towards him. Wrapping a balled fist around the chain on Ran’s neck Thren snatched it downwards, causing Ran to be thrown onto the floor. “Dirty half-breed. Know your place” he spat as he turned back to his brother. The other Tevinter however was peering up into the trees down his long nose, a sadistic smile twisting upon his lips. “Hey Thren, looks like we’ve got company”. 

Grasping at Aurora’s wrists, both men pulled her from the tree as she cried out, her legs kicking as she desperately tried to break free. “Ah no, that won’t do”. With a swift knee to the gut, Aurora fell to the ground, winded and gasping in pain. Above her, the brother smiled as he knelt onto the damp earth. “Pretty thing… for an elf” he observed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “You want her Thren?”. As the two ministers discussed the fate of the young elf, Aurora shuddered in pain before glancing across from her. Sad eyes met her own as Ran gazed blankly at her. His large amber irises swirled, like soft honey Aurora felt somewhat calmed in his presence. “It’ll be okay” he whispered softly. However as he spoke, his voice cracked as he winced in pain at the threads keeping his lips together.

Another sob tore from Aurora’s lips. How could this man, one of her own kind live like this? How could the Tevinter be so heartless? Watching Aurora cry, Ran felt his chest pang. He could deal with his own pain easily, but watching others suffer broke his heart. Weakly reaching across to her, Ran went to take her hand when Thren’s heavy boot slammed down on his fingers. Howling in pain, Ran’s face grew emotionless as the two ministers yanked him upright. “Don’t you dare touch her” one of the hissed angrily, shaking the elf in his grasp. “Don’t you dare do anything we don’t tell you to do”. Carelessly tossing Ran aside, Thren clicked his fingers, which launched one of the large dire wolves to pounce on his slave. Fangs bared, Ran’s muffled screams filled the darkness as Aurora’s body passed out from exhaustion and shock.


End file.
